Stochastic Assessment of Timing and Efficiency of Maintenance for Corroding RC Structures
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 8
Abstract
Reinforced concrete (RC) structures in a chloride environment are exposed to a particularly aggressive form of deterioration. Managing the maintenance and repair of structures subjected to these conditions is an important issue facing asset owners and operators. In the present paper, the criterion for repair is the extent of corrosion induced cracking. Common maintenance criteria and maintenance techniques are described and these are incorporated into a two-dimensional spatial time-dependent reliability model. This allows the number, timing, and extent of maintenance actions to be predicted over the service life of RC structures. The analysis includes the effect of inspection interval, maintenance technique, repair efficiency, and repair threshold. Results are presented for a typical RC bridge deck subject to a corrosive marine environment. It was found that repair efficiency affecting time to corrosion initiation of repaired concrete is more critical to the performance of the repair than the repair efficiency that affected corrosion rate.
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Acknowledgments
The support of the Australian Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 8 • August 2009
Pages: 887 - 895
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 23, 2007
Accepted: Mar 24, 2009
Published online: Jul 15, 2009
Published in print: Aug 2009
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Sankaran Mahadevan
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